Our History

Our History

Eunice Farnsworth - Ruth Heald Cragin Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution

In July 2008, Eunice Farnsworth Chapter, Skowhegan, Maine

and Ruth Heald Cragin Chapter, North Anson, Maine merged together to become . .

"Eunice Farnsworth - Ruth Heald Cragin Chapter"

These two chapters with smaller membership
chose to unite as one, preserving the work and rich heritage of both.
We unite as one, strong and vibrant, harmonizing wonderful traditions and additions,
serving the three main goals of our organization:

Historic Preservation, Promotion of Education and Patriotic Endeavor.

The Skowhegan Chapter received its name, Eunice Farnsworth,

because she, as the wife of Joseph Weston,

was the first white woman to settle in Somerset County.

In 1772, Joseph Weston and his family
made a home on the west bank of the Kennebec River
about two and one-half miles below what is now Skowhegan village.

Three years later, in the fall of 1775,
Joseph Weston's services were enlisted
in piloting Arnold's Quebec Expedition up the Kennebec River.
He went as far as the Falls of Norridgewock, where he contracted a severe cold,
was compelled to return home, and soon died.

His widow was left with nine children to face the future.
History tells us she was "brave to bear the sorrows and ills of life,
and strong to meet its increased responsibilities."

For four years she struggled alone;
then the gallant Colonel John Moor came a-wooing,
and the widow of Joseph Weston became the wife of Col. John Moor
and moved with him to the town of Anson.
Thirty years later, again a widow, she came back to Skowhegan
and lived with her son until her death at the age of eighty-seven years.

January 13, 1898, thirteen ladies met
to form a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Skowhegan.
When the subject of a name came up for discussion
Eunice Farnsworth was unanimously agreed upon,
not only for the reason above stated,
but because she was the widow of two Revolutionary soldiers
and great-great-grandmother of five of the thirteen charter members.

from the History of the Maine Daughters of the American Revolution, 1925

The Charter Members were:

Louise Helen Coburn	Eda Kezia Smith
Mary Blanche Bixby	Josephine Withington
Helen Sophia (Miller) Coburn	Lillian Clayton Smith
Sarah Abby Hanson	Alma B. C. Walton
Mary Steward Heath	Ethel Steward Walton
Lois Weston Patten	Gertrude Sophia Weston
Grace Coburn Smith

The North Anson Chapter was named Ruth Heald Cragin,

for the daughter of Major Ephraim Heald, a Soldier of the Revolution.

Called upon at the alarm of April 19th, Ephraim Heald of Peterborough Slip
or Sliptown, New Hampshire (now Temple, NH) joined the war at Lexington.
The first settler at Temple, NH, he traded with Indians and traveled into Maine,
the first white man to come as far as Concord and was given two hundred acres to settle there.

Ephraim and Sarah (Conant) Heald's daughter,
Ruth Heald married John, son of Deacon John Cragin at Temple, NH.
John Cragin entered the militia at an early age and was Sergeant, Lieutenant,
and in the War of 1812, a Captain.
Evie H. Gray Robinson, granddaughter of Ruth Heald Cragin,
organized the Ruth Heald Cragin Chapter on February 22, 1902.

The Charter Members were:

Evie Robinson	Maud Emery
Helen Stevens	Alice Simmons
Ellen Gray	Sara Parlin
Jennie Green	Caroline Caswell
Almeda Cutts	Helen Hilton

Web hyperlinks to non-DAR sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR,

the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.

This site created and maintained by

Eunice Farnsworth - Ruth Heald Cragin Chapter member, Kathy M. Palmer

Last Update : January 14, 2013

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